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hypercorrect

[ hahy-per-kuh-rekt ]

adjective

  1. overly correct; excessively fastidious; fussy:

    hypercorrect manners.

  2. of, relating to, or characterized by hypercorrection.


hypercorrect

/ ˌhaɪpəkəˈrɛkt /

adjective

  1. excessively correct or fastidious
  2. resulting from or characterized by hypercorrection
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


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Derived Forms

  • ˌhypercorˈrectness, noun
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Other Words From

  • hyper·cor·rectly adverb
  • hyper·cor·rectness noun
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Word History and Origins

Origin of hypercorrect1

First recorded in 1920–25; hyper- + correct
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Example Sentences

Some writers, dimly sensing that were is posher, hypercorrect themselves and use it with open possibilities, such as He looked at me as if he suspected I were cheating on him and If he were surprised, he didn’t show it.

Labov and his successors found that people hypercorrect most in moments of self-consciousness—when switching into a shaky second language or addressing a crowd.

From Slate

At viii 15 I has the hypercorrect nil for nihil, and at xiii 26 ethereos ... deos for aetherias ... domos, but in general has few signs of deliberate alteration.

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hyperconscioushypercorrection